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Unity Snares Its Next Big Game: ‘Super Mario Run’

Game-engine developer’s software was used in summer hit ‘Pokémon Go’

Unity Technologies said Tuesday its engine will be used in Nintendo’s new mobile app ‘Super Mario Run.’ Nintendo Creative Fellow Shigeru Miyamoto is shown with the Super Mario character during an Apple media event in San Francisco on September 7.
Photo:
Reuters

Unity Technologies Inc., a closely watched software developer that has partnerships with some of the biggest names in technology, is helping to launch one of the most anticipated mobile games yet:
Nintendo Co.’s
NTDOY -2.27%
“Super Mario Run.”

The deal is the latest win for Unity, whose engine software is used to develop videogames like this summer’s smash hit “Pokémon Go.”

At its annual developers conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Unity said its engine will be used in the first mobile app from Nintendo to feature one of the game maker’s iconic characters. Analysts expect “Super Mario Run,” which lands first on
Apple Inc.
AAPL -1.53%
devices in December, to be a hit.

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Nintendo's ''Super Mario Run'' is coming to iPhones and iPads by December. The Japanese videogame powerhouse has stepped up its mobile-games business as its console Wii U has trailed Sony's PlayStaion and Microsoft's Xbox One. Photo: Getty Images

Its partners include
Facebook Inc.
and
Alphabet Inc.’s
Google, both of which announced initiatives involving Unity software at the conference. Game engines are receiving increased attention from the likes of Facebook and
Amazon Inc.
That has helped Unity attract $206.5 million in funding from investors including Sequoia Capital and DFJ Growth, giving it a $1.5 billion valuation.

Unity doesn’t disclose its finances, but previously has said its revenue more than doubled in the past five years as more companies seek a piece of the nearly $100 billion global videogame industry. The company didn’t disclose the terms of its deals with Facebook, Google or Nintendo.

A “Super Mario Run” app could generate between 50 million to 100 million downloads in its first month, according to Serkan Toto, a Tokyo-based game consultant.

“If it has enough free content for people to enjoy, it can earn one billion downloads over a period of several years,” he said.

The original “Angry Birds” app has been downloaded more than 920 million times since its 2009 release, according to Rovio Entertainment Ltd. “Candy Crush Saga,” from
Activision Blizzard Inc.’s
King Digital Entertainment, has been downloaded more than 850 million times, according to research firm Sensor Tower Inc. Nintendo has said “Super Mario Run” will be free to download, though players will have to pay to enjoy all of the game’s levels.

The company hasn’t disclosed pricing, though industry tracker SuperData Research Inc. projects the game could generate between $1 million and $4 million in its first week on Apple’s App Store. The game will arrive on devices running Google’s Android at a later date.